Augmented sociality and enabling a participatory experience of augmented reality

Overview

We're seeking brilliant and highly motivated students to work on an Australian Research Council-funded project.

Our goal is to transform augmented reality (AR) from a hyper-specialised tool for power users, into an enabler of creativity, socialisation, and new forms of community.

We want everyday users to be able to augment reality as they wish and share such newly-created experiences with their friends, family, and community.

Research activities

You'll conduct research under the supervision of the project chief investigators, and in collaboration with a vibrant community of students and research fellows, with a variety of skills and research interests.

The project has two main goals:

• To conduct qualitative investigations of use cases for a socialised augmented reality, from family routines to participatory citizenship, to civic science.
  • We'll explore how AR can enter the network of relations that makes communities function.
  • We'll also explore how the digital and material world can interact to create novel, shared experiences that are capable of transcending both the virtual and real world.
• To co-design novel AR applications with community stakeholders that enable new forms of creativity and socialisation.
  • This will be followed by trialing these applications with real users in real contexts.
  • We'll guide you through the design of a research protocol suitable to test the overall effectiveness and user experience of these applications.
  • You will conduct the user studies, analyse the findings, and publish the results of your research.

Outcomes

We aim to redefine and democratise augmented reality, opening this technology to users of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds.

We envision a world where all people can create their own AR experiences, and share these with family, friends, and the broader community.

Skills and experience

We're a multidisciplinary research team with skills and interests ranging from:

• interaction design
• 3D modelling and development
• co-design and participatory design
• digital fabrication
• photography
• music and audio production.

We value diversity and we're a welcoming and inclusive team. We especially welcome applications from students bringing unique perspectives, for example (but not exclusively):

• female students
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
• students who identify with minority groups.

The ideal applicant will have an unlimited curiosity, contagious enthusiasm, and a restless creative mind.

Scholarships

You may be able to apply for a research scholarship in our annual scholarship round.

Annual scholarship round

Keywords

• augmented reality
• AR
• design
• creativity
• social
• community
• family

Contact

Contact Dr Alessandro Soro for more information.